Category Archives: Microbiology Investigations

Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day

October 15 is Global Handwashing Day, a global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.

GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN, TEST, AND REPLICATE CREATIVE WAYS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO WASH THEIR HANDS WITH SOAP AT CRITICAL TIMES.

This unprecedented time provides a unique impetus to institutionalize hand hygiene as a fundamental component of health and safety. The learnings from the past year have emphasized the need for collective action to address the historic neglect of hand hygiene investments, policies, and programs once and for all. As we enter a new normal, beyond COVID-19, our future is at hand.  This year’s theme, “Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together,” calls for coordinated action as we actively work toward universal hand hygiene.

No matter your role, you can celebrate Global Handwashing Day!

Click to access GHD-2021-Fact-Sheet.pdf

ECDC – Cholera – Annual Epidemiological Report for 2019

ECDC

Food Illness

Key facts

•In the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), cholera is a rare disease that is primarily associated with travel to endemic countries outside of the EU/EEA.

•In 2019, seven EU countries reported 26 confirmed cases of cholera, which was similar to previous years.

•Most cases (16/26) were reported by the United Kingdom.

Click to access CHOL_AER_2019_Report.pdf

EU – Latest Cryptosporidium parasite statistics show rise in Europe

Food Safety News

Infections from the Cryptosporidium parasite are continuing to rise in Europe, according to a report published this month by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Outbreaks associated with food and drink, such as juice, have been reported. The parasites are microscopic and do not make food smell, look or taste unusual.

For 2018, 20 countries reported 14,299 cryptosporidiosis cases, of which 14,252 were confirmed. The number of confirmed patients was more than the 11,435 in 2017. The notification rate for 2018 was higher than in the previous four years from 2014 to 2017.

Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom accounted for 76 percent of all confirmed cases in 2018, with the UK alone making up 41 percent with 5,820 infections.

UK – Kent E-Coli warning: SES Water issue update on contaminated water

Kent Live

A precautionary boil notice was earlier issued after E-coli was found at 443 postcodes

Tap water in thousands of Kent and Surrey homes has been deemed safe to drink following the lifting of a precautionary boil notice.

On Friday, SES water advised customers to boil all drinking water after the deadly E-coli bacteria was discovered during routine tests.

Teams were immediately called to restore the water supplies to their normal standards which has now been achieved.

USA- Boil water order issued for 4 Mass. towns after E. coli detection

Boston.com

Four towns on the South Coast of Massachusetts are under a boil water order after E. coli was detected in their water source.

The Mattapoisett River Valley Water District sent out the order on Wednesday, saying it was notified of the positive E. coli results in routine samples collected Tuesday, WCVB reported. The boil water order affects Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, Rochester, and Marion.

Per the order, any ice, drinks, formula, and uncooked foods prepared with water on or before Tuesday should be discarded, WCVB reported. The district has begun temporary chlorination of the water and will flush the system over the next few days. More samples will be collected Thursday, and residents will be informed when tests show no E. coli is present.

UK – E. coli scare: People in Oxted told to boil drinking water

BBC

People in parts of Surrey are being told to boil their water before drinking it over fears it could contain E. coli.

Hundreds of postcodes in the Oxted area have been affected.

SES Water said an issue was discovered during routine tests, and “our teams are working to investigate the problem and restore supplies to their usual high standards”.

The scale of the contamination has not yet been confirmed.

The water company is awaiting further test results.

In the meantime people in the area are being told to boil all water and let it cool before using it for drinking, preparing food or cleaning their teeth.

Pets should also be given boiled tap water.

Boiled water can be kept in the fridge, and should be covered and used within 24 hours.

Ireland – Five Enforcement Orders Served on Food Businesses in September

FSAI

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that four Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order were served on food businesses during the month of September for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and officers of the FSAI.

Two Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

  • La Cave Restaurant (Area closed: dry goods store of La Cave Restaurant), 28 Anne Street, Dublin 2
  • David Kra (Production Unit) (retailer), Unit 25, Midleton Enterprise Park, Dwyers Road, Midleton, Cork

Two Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

  • Mrs Crogh’s Bar (Closed Area: The food preparation area: preparation, cooking and service of food), 4 Parnell Street, Thurles, Tipperary
  • Domenico Take Away, Newcastle, Tipperary

One Prohibition Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

  • Brazuca Market, 145 Parnell Street, Dublin 1

During the month September, two prosecutions were taken by the FSAI and the HSE in relation to:

  • Peter J Lyons, Ratoath, Meath
  • High Nelly’s Pub, Knocklonagad, Garryhill, Carlow

Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in September include; flies noted throughout the premises; mice faeces noted in a room used to store burger buns; build-up of food debris and grease; a poor standard of personal hygiene by a food handler; raw foods stored above cooked foods in a fridge; food stored at unsafe temperatures; no evidence of regular hand washing; no pest control systems in place; completely inadequate food preparation surfaces; no facilities for disinfecting of crockery or utensils; food was wrapped in a freezer with a dead insect on its wrapping; food was being prepared cooked and served in an area where timber was also being chopped with an axe; a food worker had not received any training in food hygiene matters; a failure to provide traceability documentation.

Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said that all food businesses must take their legal responsibility seriously to ensure they protect the health of consumers by complying with food law.

“It is a continuous disappointment that each month food inspectors find serious non-compliances in food businesses that can put consumers’ health at risk. Businesses failed to comply with food safety, hygiene and proper food storage and handling standards that are in place to protect consumers’ health. Food businesses also need to ensure that their premises have the right food safety management procedures in place to ensure pest control and best hygiene practice at all times”.

“Also, it is the responsibility of all food business owners to ensure that their food business is registered and operating in line with the legal requirements under food law. Failure to do so will not be tolerated. This was evident in September where a prosecution was taken in relation to an unregistered food business involved in the transportation of beef. It followed an investigation by the FSAI in conjunction with veterinary inspectors from Offaly County Council, South Dublin County Council, Meath County Council and Longford County Council,” added Dr Byrne.

Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website. Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.

Enforcement Reports

Research – Microbiome population dynamics of cold smoked sockeye salmon during refrigerated storage and after culture enrichment 

Journal of Food Protection

Cold smoked salmon is a ready-to-eat seafood product of high commercial importance. The processing and storage steps facilitate the introduction, growth and persistence of foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria. The growth of commensal bacteria during storage and once the product is opened also influence the quality and safety of cold smoked salmon. Here we investigated the microbial community through targeted 16s rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, as means to better understand the interactions among bacteria in cold smoked salmon. Cold smoked salmon samples were tested over 30 days of aerobic storage at 4℃ and cultured at each timepoint in buffered Listeria enrichment broth (BLEB) commonly used to detect Listeria in foods. The microbiomes were comprised of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria namely, Carnobacterium , Brochothrix , Pseudomonas , Serratia , and Psychrobacter . Pseudomonas species were the most diverse species with 181 taxa identified. Additionally, we identified potential homologs to 10 classes of bacteriocins in microbiomes of cold smoked salmon stored at 4°C and corresponding BLEB culture enrichments. The findings presented here contribute to our understanding of microbiome population dynamics in cold smoked salmon, including changes in bacterial taxa during aerobic cold storage and after culture enrichment.  This may facilitate improvements to pathogen detection and quality preservation of this food.

Research – A pilot-scale evaluation of using gaseous chlorine dioxide for decontamination of foodborne pathogens on produce and low-moisture foods

Wiley Online

Small-scale studies have shown that chlorine dioxide gas, ClO2(g), was effective for decontamination of produce, nuts, and spices. This study conducted a pilot-scale evaluation to identify effective ClO2(g) treatment parameters for commercial-scale applications. The gas was produced by a generator utilizing sodium chlorite and chlorine gas for decontamination of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella inoculated on tomatoes, blueberries, baby-cut carrots, almonds, and peppercorns. Inoculated samples and 45 kg tomatoes in a 1,246-L treatment chamber were exposed to various ClO2(g) concentrations (mg/L) and times 9 (hr) at 70–95% RH to determine the treatment effects on the pathogen reductions. Results showed that the treatment caused higher reductions on produce. A ClO2(g) treatment of 1 mg/L-3 hr at 70% RH reduced 4.9–6.8, 5.1–5.6, and 4.2–6.3 log CFU/g of STEC, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella, respectively, on produce, with the highest reductions on baby-cut carrots. For almonds and peppercorns, ClO2(g) treatments under higher RH caused higher reductions. The treatment of 2 mg/L-9 hr or 3 mg/L-4 hr at 95% RH reduced >4.0 log of STEC and Salmonella on almonds, and 1 mg/L-5 hr at 85% RH achieved >5.0 log reductions on peppercorns. Applying moisture to the surfaces of almonds caused >4.0 log reductions using 1 mg/L-5 hr at 95% RH. This study identified effective ClO2(g) treatment parameters for achieving >4.0 log reductions of common pathogens on tomatoes, blueberries, baby-cut carrots, almonds, and peppercorns and showed that ClO2(g) generator is suitable for large-scale decontamination. These findings can be used for pilot-scale ClO2(g) decontamination of these products and for testing using ClO2(g) for commercial-scale decontamination trials.

Research – Inactivation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus in rice by radio-frequency heating 

Journal of Food Protection

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of the milling degree (MD) of Oryza sativa L. (Korean rice) on the heating rate, pathogen inactivation (Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus), and color change resulting from radio-frequency (RF) heating. Rice samples inoculated with pathogens were placed in a polypropylene jar and subjected to RF heating for 0-75 s. The heating rate of rice with a 2% MD was the highest during RF heating, followed by those with a 0, 8, and 10% MD, and the reduction of pathogens showed the same trend. The reduction of the levels of pathogens in rice with a MD 0 and 2% was significantly higher than that observed for rice with a MD of 8 and 10% under the same treatment conditions. For example, log reductions of S. Typhimurium in rice by 55 s RF heating were 3.64, 5.19, 2.18, and 1.80 for milling degree of 0, 2, 8, and 10%, respectively. At the same treatment conditions, log reduction of S. aureus were 2.77, 5.08, 1.15, and 0.90 for milling degree of 0, 2, 8, and 10%, respectively. The color of rice measured according to L*, a*, and b* was not significantly altered after RF heating, regardless of the MD. Therefore, the MD of rice should be considered before RF heating is applied to inactivate foodborne pathogens.